RENTON — One of Russell Wilson’s favorite cliches, and there are many, is that he tries to be the calm in the storm. That has been a focus of his for so long that, when asked Wednesday if he could every think of a time when the moment was too big for him — perhaps in high school or college — the Seattle Seahawks quarterback was at a loss to come up with a single example.

“I hope not,” Wilson said. “I can’t really remember.”

And while that is a really boring answer, it’s also a rather telling one about what has made Wilson so impressive through three seasons, and during this time of year in particular.

“When you’re in those moments, you either live for them or you fall off,” Wilson said. “And for me, I look forward to those moments. I visualize myself ever since I was a little kid to be in these moments. I’ve visualized it being fourth-and-7 and visualized third downs and red zones.”

While the thought of a grade-school-aged Wilson picturing a random third-down situation sounds a little funny, whatever he did to get himself to this point allows him to be at his best when the stage is its biggest.

While Wilson has played incredibly well throughout his three-year career, he has been even better in big moments. After last week’s win over Carolina in which Wilson was, as Seattle head coach Pete Carroll put it, “impeccable,” going 8 for 8 on third down for 199 yards and three touchdowns, Wilson now has the highest postseason passer rating (109.6) in NFL history for a quarterback who has attempted at least 150 passes.

Go ahead and read that again — 8-for-8 on third down for 199 yard and three touchdowns. That’s absurd. In six playoff games, Wilson has thrown nine touchdowns and just one interception, which came on a desperation heave into the end zone at the end of the game against Atlanta. And most significantly, the Seahawks are 5-1 in those games.

Following Saturday’s win over Carolina, Wilson said, “Sometimes, I think I’m meant for these situations.” That would sound rather braggadocios if not for the fact that it’s also rather accurate.

“Like great competitors, these opportunities really bring out his best,” Carroll said. “He has great habits and they come together.”

Ever since Wilson led comebacks in his first two playoff games as a rookie, a victory in Washington followed by a loss in Atlanta, it has been clear that he possesses whatever intangibles lead to an athlete being described as clutch.

There are some who argue that there’s no such thing as a “clutch gene” or whatever you want to call it, but Wilson’s postseason success seems to indicate otherwise.

“I think that’s something that I tried to pride myself on,” Wilson said. “I think any great player has to be clutch … You can’t shy away from those moments.”

And what might be more significant for Seattle’s offense heading into Sunday’s game isn’t what Wilson has done in past playoff games, but what he has been doing over the past five or six weeks. With the Seahawks putting an increased emphasis on the quick passing game, Wilson has, more than ever, been deadly as a quarterback who can make a pre-snap read, find a mismatch to exploit, then make a quick throw for a big play.

Wilson’s ability to buy time with his legs and connect on a big play when coverage breaks down will always be a big part of his game, but recently he is becoming a more complete pocket passer.

“I think he’s in a growth spurt again,” said offensive line coach/assistant head coach Tom Cable. “Just his command of protections and putting people in the right place, using his hots the right way. He made a couple beautiful checks in the last game.”

One of the best of those “beautiful checks” came on Wilson’s first-quarter touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin. Wilson and Baldwin both recognized that the Carolina Panthers were bringing pressure, which would require a quick throw, but would also leave Baldwin one-on-one with a safety in the middle of the field. With pressure bearing down on him, Wilson quickly floated a high pass into the middle of the end zone that left his hand while Baldwin was still at the 10-yard line. It was a throw that took anticipation, and trust, which have become bigger parts of Seattle’s passing game this season.

It’s a throw Wilson might not have made earlier in his career, or one he would have felt the need to buy more time in order to make.

“I think he does (make that throw in the past), but I think it comes out a little bit later. I think he wants to see it more sometimes, but he’s grown in the aspect where he just lets it go,” Baldwin said. “He trusts the guys around him, trusts his offensive line that they’re going to hold it up for him, the tight end, that they’re going to make their adjustment. And obviously he trusted me to throw the ball up well before I got to my break and trusted me to make the play. So I would say he would have made that throw, but not as consistently as he’s been making it this year.”

Consistency added to clutch? That sounds like a dangerous combination for a quarterback who has already put himself in heady company when it comes to postseason play.

John Boyle covers the Seattle Seahawks for the Everett Daily Herald. He can be reached at jboyle@heraldnet.com.